Three men have been arrested for their alleged roles in the importation of about 360kg of methamphetamine impregnated in mosaic tiles.
Two Sydney men, 39 and 56, were arrested on Thursday morning (3 July, 2025) at Holroyd and Liverpool and are expected to appear in a Sydney court later today (3 July, 2025). It is expected they will be charged by the AFP with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
A Melbourne man, 39, was charged with the same offence on 12 May, 2025. He appeared before Melbourne Magistrates Court on 14 May, 2025, and was formally refused bail. He will appear before the same court on 29 October, 2025.
The AFP launched an investigation in April, 2025, after the Australian Border Force (ABF) intercepted an importation of mosaic tiles believed to have originated from the Middle East. About 360 boxes of tiles were found to be impregnated with methamphetamine.
Forensic testing established the consignment contained about 360kg of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $333 million.
The AFP removed the tiles containing the illicit drugs and undertook a controlled delivery of the consignment to a storage facility in Chullora, a suburb in Sydney's southwest, on 15 April, 2025.
The consignment was collected by a man, 56, who allegedly used an alias to coordinate the delivery. A second man, 39, also assisted with storing the illicit drugs at the storage facility.
The AFP will allege the men were aware the consignment contained illicit drugs and were to be paid up to $50,000 for their activities.
The consignment was then transported to a storage facility in Clayton South, Victoria, on 22 April, 2025. Further inquiries led investigators to identify a Melbourne man, 39 as being the intended recipient of the illicit drugs.
During a search warrant of the man's Donnybrook home on 12 May, 2025, investigators seized a number of electronic devices which allegedly linked the man to the drug importation plot.
The Donnybrook man was charged with:
- One count of attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a unlawfully imported border controlled drug, contrary to section 307.5 of the Criminal Code (Cth). The maximum penalty for this offence is life imprisonment.
- Fail to comply with requirement of 3LA order, contrary to section 3LA(6) of the Criminal Code (Cth). This offence has a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment; and
- Commit indictable offence while on bail, contrary to section 30B of the Bail Act 1977 (Vic). This offence has a maximum penalty of three months' imprisonment.
AFP Acting Commander Peter Fogarty said the result demonstrated the commitment of the AFP to combat transnational organised crime and illicit drug trafficking.
"We regularly see elaborate or outside-the-box attempts to import harmful illicit drugs into Australia, but the AFP and our partners are ready and waiting to stop organised crime syndicates in their tracks," A/Commander Fogarty said.
"The AFP shares intelligence with domestic and international law enforcement partners every day to combat organised crime syndicates and their sophisticated attempts to distribute illicit drugs into Australia, through major cities like Sydney and Melbourne.
"Methamphetamine causes immense harm to users and their families and make our communities less safe. On average, 38 people were hospitalised each day in Australia for methamphetamine-related incidents in 2022-23*.
ABF Commander Kari Ellis has applauded the ABF officers' capabilities to detect and disrupt these elaborate smuggling schemes.
"The Australian Border Force is the first layer of protection to Australia's border security, and criminal syndicates look to exploit any vulnerability they can find," Commander Ellis said.
"Intelligence gathering and agency partnership are just one part of the plan to dismantle these transnational operations.
"The ABF's detection capabilities, along with x-ray technology and officer intuition, are world-leading, and we will continue to play our part in protecting the Australian community."
*Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report.
